On the morning of the shooting, Schurr pulled Lyoya over for an apparent license plate violation. When Lyoya exited his vehicle and failed to comply with verbal commands from Schurr, the officer became physically aggressive. Following a short chase and scuffle over his taser, Schurr wrestled Lyoya to the ground face down, pulled his police handgun and fired one shot to the back of the Congolese refugee’s head, killing him instantly.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, fires officer charged with second-degree murder in shooting of Patrick Lyoya
Christopher Schurr, the police officer charged with second-degree murder for killing 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya with a gunshot to the back of the head on April 4, has been fired by the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Schurr decided to waive his right to a discharge hearing and Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington announced on Wednesday that, “I have decided to terminate Mr. Schurr’s employment with the Grand Rapids Police Department effective June 10, 2022.” The termination was backdated to the day of Schurr’s arraignment.
Washington said he accepted the recommendation of the police chief and the city’s labor relations office to fire Schurr. The brutal killing was captured on smartphone video which shows Schurr shooting Lyoya in the back of the head execution-style during a traffic stop in a neighborhood on the city’s southeast side. Schurr was charged by Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker on June 9, two months after the shooting took place.
On the morning of the shooting, Schurr pulled Lyoya over for an apparent license plate violation. When Lyoya exited his vehicle and failed to comply with verbal commands from Schurr, the officer became physically aggressive. Following a short chase and scuffle over his taser, Schurr wrestled Lyoya to the ground face down, pulled his police handgun and fired one shot to the back of the Congolese refugee’s head, killing him instantly.
In his statement on the firing, City Manager Washington said, “Due to the on-going criminal matter and the potential for civil litigation, I will not be providing any additional comment concerning Mr. Schurr at this time.”
At his arraignment last Friday, Schurr pleaded not guilty and was released on a $100,000 bond. As a condition of his pretrial release, Schurr cannot purchase or possess firearms or dangerous weapons, must remain under the supervision of court services, cannot drink alcohol or consume any illegal drugs and cannot engage in “any assaultive, threatening or intimidating behavior.”
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom had recommended that Schurr be immediately suspended without pay and fired on the day he was charged. Although Winstrom had never seen the report from the Michigan State Police (MSP) upon which Becker based his decision to bring the second-degree murder charge, he said he did not have any reason to believe that the Kent County prosecutor “made an incorrect decision.”
Winstrom made his recommendation at a press conference that was also attended by Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and Office of Oversight and Public Accountability Director Brandon Davis. The mayor and accountability director are now going about the business of covering up both the pervasive police violence against poor and working class people in Grand Rapids and the initial attempts by city authorities to sweep the murder of Lyoya under the rug.
Davis claimed that his department would now do a “post-incident review of the city’s actions and consider concerns such as how much time it took to release the video of this incident, when should an officer’s name be released in connection with an investigation.” Mayor Bliss made similarly meaningless remarks about how the charge against Schurr was “a step in the process of accountability and justice” and “we have a lot of work to do” including making “long-term systemic changes that create a safer and a better community for everyone.”
Whatever the present comments of the Grand Rapids political establishment, it took a series of protests by workers and young people in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit, along with members of the Lyoya family, in the early days following the shooting, to force authorities to release the disturbing video three weeks later and then make the name of Schurr public a week after that.
The protesters continued demanding that Schurr be criminally charged as the prosecutor dragged out his decision for weeks claiming he did not have a complete report from the MSP and that he was consulting with experts on the matter. The decision to charge second-degree murder and the timing of it were obviously calibrated politically.
During the lead-up to the prosecutor’s decision, a campaign was launched in the Detroit press to lionize Schurr as a “humanitarian” and model police officer and simultaneously paint a picture of Lyoya as a troubled young man with numerous past run-ins with law enforcement.
Lyoya was a working class refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who arrived in the US as a teenager and, along with both of his parents, took manual labor jobs in order to survive. He had two small children of his own and was known throughout the Congolese refugee community as someone who was very helpful and giving of himself to others in need.
Attorney Ven Johnson who is representing the Lyoya family, raised important questions about the amount of time it took the city of Grand Rapids to fire Schurr. Johnson said the city had sufficient evidence to fire him long before prosecutor Becker announced the criminal charge two months after the shooting of Lyoya.
Johnson told the Detroit News on Wednesday, “What took them so long? The City of Grand Rapids, which of course includes its police department, has the responsibility to hire and fire all by themselves. They waited for the prosecutor to make important decisions for the City of Grand Rapids.” Pointing to the political implications of the case, Johnson said, “Leaving him on the force and paying him money. ... What message does that send to officers?”
The second-degree murder charge and firing of Schurr has mobilized far-right and pro-police political forces who say the officer was fully justified in fatally shooting Lyoya. During Schurr’s arraignment, more than 60 supporters showed up, including some uniformed police officers.
In the hearing, Schurr’s attorney Matt Borgula said his client did “everything he was required to do per department policy.” Borgula claimed that before lethal force was used, Schurr took several steps which exhausted him until he “felt that he was in danger of lethal harm himself before he decided to pull his weapon.” The attorney said that this will be the line of defense in Schurr’s trial.
A probable cause conference is set for 9:30 a.m. on June 21 and a preliminary examination is also scheduled for June 28 at 1:30 p.m.
Protesters march after Omari Cryer shot and killed by US Marshal in Louisville, Kentucky
Protesters marched through downtown Louisville, Kentucky on Monday to demand justice for Omari Cryer, a twenty-five-year-old African American man who was shot and killed by a deputy with the US Marshals Task Force on Friday morning. The demonstrators observed a moment of silence before releasing balloons into the air and chanting “Justice for Omari.”
While law enforcement officials have released few details about the shooting, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) released a statement on Saturday that US Marshals were “attempting to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect in the 800 block of Sutcliffe Avenue for domestic violence, strangulation and assault when an altercation ensued with the suspect.”
The statement said that a deputy US Marshal “discharged his weapon striking the suspect,” and officers on the scene “rendered aid, but the suspect was pronounced deceased.”
Subsequent information from the coroner’s office confirmed that Cryer was shot more than once. People at the scene also told the Louisville Courier Journal that the US Marshals Task Force raided the house where Cryer was a guest of a friend and he “ran from the home toward Sutcliffe Avenue.” They also reported that even though the shooting took place at 9:00 a.m., Cryer’s body was still at the location where he was shot as of 1:30 p.m.
On Sunday, family, friends and supporters organized a protest at Jefferson Square Park across from Louisville Metro Hall and the Jefferson County District Court. They demanded city officials provide an explanation to Cryer’s mother, who has yet to be allowed to view the body of her son. Family members said that Cryer had several children of his own.
Ansong McGhee, Cryer’s cousin, said, “We want to know what happened to Omari Cryer, we want to know.” McGhee added, according to WDRB, “They're killing our kids and we're sick of it. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. We’re out here saying another name. Another name. Another black man is dead.”
On Monday, LMPD Police Chief Erika Shields held a press conference to answer questions. Shields said, “There was a brief foot pursuit. They ran upon a fence. Subsequently, the Marshals opened fire, striking Mr. Cryer.”
Shields declined to elaborate on the original claim that there was an altercation between the US Marshal and Cryer. Instead, Shields said that Cryer was armed with a gun although she did not say if he brandished the weapon or if the agents chasing him were aware that he was armed.
When asked if Cryer was shot in the back, she said it was too early in the investigation to provide that information. Shields also said that surveillance and bodycam video would be made available in the “near future” along with the full coroner’s report.
Shields was also asked why the US Marshals Task Force was involved in serving an arrest warrant on state charges, to which she replied that LMPD has a partnership with the US Marshals Service. “[The Marshals] work with us to serve high-risk felony warrants,” she said.
Shields also used the press conference to review the details of the warrant being served on Cryer as well as his prior felony charges.
With the memory of the brutal murder of Breonna Taylor by LMPD officers in March 2020 still fresh in the minds of the public, Louisville city officials are concerned that the shooting of Cryer will lead to wider protests. The officer who fired 16 rounds into Taylor’s apartment and killed her, following the serving of a no-knock warrant, was never charged with a crime.
County sheriff shoots and kills 66-year-old white woman in rural Wyndham Township, Ohio
The Garrettsville Police Department released bodycam video on Tuesday that captures a Portage County sheriff’s deputy shooting and killing 66-year-old Cora Baughman in the garage of her neighbor’s house on May 14.
The killing of Baughman, who was shot multiple times in the chest and twice in the leg according to a preliminary county coroner’s report, took place in Wyndham Township, a rural community located between Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio.
The police video begins at around 9:30 a.m. as a Garrettsville officer arrives at the house, which has a large front yard and a long driveway. The sheriff’s deputy is already out of his cruiser and walking toward the house when he spots Baughman just inside the neighbor’s garage. He says, “Come out here, let me see your hands now. Come here.”
Baughman can be seen stepping outside the garage with her hands up. The deputy then yells, “Drop it now. Drop what’s in your hand. Drop what’s in your hand now,” as both officers advance toward the house. With his handgun drawn and aimed at Baughman, the deputy then starts running toward the garage and yells, “Ma’am drop it. You will be shot.”
Baughman can be heard saying something, although it is not clear what she says, as she turns and then goes back into the garage, walking between two parked vehicles. The deputy sheriff follows her and continues yelling “Drop it now.” Although the actual shooting is not visible in the video, 15 shots can then be heard fired in quick succession and the deputy yelling “Shots fired, shots fired, drop it!” Baughman, who is seen on the ground, can be heard saying, “I don’t have it.”
The deputy then proceeds to put handcuffs on Baughman as she is lying face down in a pool of her own blood.
A Facebook post on May 14 from Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski said that “shots were fired” without saying who discharged their weapon. The report also said, “One subject was transported to UH Portage Medical Center where they were later pronounced deceased.”
According to a transcript of two 911 calls that morning from the neighbor, Richard Knerem, Baughman had entered his garage and was trying to open a door into his house, and she had pointed a gun at him. Knerem said during the emergency call that he had not been communicating with Baughman and that the two had been in a dispute over her septic tank dumping into his yard.
Aside from the original brief statement, which did not mention that the deputy fired his weapon or Cora Baughman by name, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office has not commented on the incident or responded to requests from news media for comment. The Garrettsville police bodycam video and the coroner’s report were released after requests from the Akron Beacon Journal. The sheriff’s office will not be releasing any bodycam footage because Portage County does not require the officers to wear cameras.
According to The Portager, an abbreviated copy of the sheriff’s incident report said Baughman was charged with aggravated burglary due to trespassing with intent to “inflict harm.” While the full report has not been released, Baughman’s two victims are listed as Richard and Barbara Knerem and a named witness is an apparent relative of Baughman’s, 31-year-old Aaron Baughman.
The Ohio Bureau of Investigation (OBCI) is investigating the fatal shooting at the request of the Portage County sheriff, and news reports have said the inquiry could take months to conclude. The OBCI confirmed on Tuesday that Baughman was the woman killed in the incident, and when it concludes its investigation it will hand the findings over to the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office.
The killing of Baughman, a white woman who lived in a trailer next to the Knerems on a dirt road, exposes the reality that the victims of police violence and murder are from all racial groups and geographic locations in the US.
According to a study by The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that exposes the brutality and injustice of the US criminal justice system, published last August, fatal police shootings in rural American communities are happening at unprecedented rates but are given very little media attention.
Among the significant findings of The Marshall Project report, titled “Shooting first and asking questions later,” are that officers in rural areas fatally shot 1,200 people between 2015 and 2020 and that “rural incidents mirrored many of the dynamics of police shootings that have come under scrutiny in cities.”
Rural police killings “seldom attract attention from the public or the national press. Police shootings in isolated areas are rarely captured on video, and many rural officers don’t wear body cameras.”
In some states, such as Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Texas, state troopers are responsible for many deaths in rural areas. In Kentucky, state troopers shot and killed 41 people between 2015 and 2020, and 33 of the victims were from rural areas.
The Marshall Project says that notable among the rural shootings is that those being killed are mostly white and male. “White people make up the rural majority in nearly every state, and two-thirds of the people fatally shot by law enforcement in rural areas across the country were white, the data analysis shows; about 10% were black. (In cities, 37 percent were black and 31 percent white.)”
Similarities among police shootings in all communities in the US include that two-thirds of victims are armed and a majority have drug addiction or mental health issues, including some that are “in the throes of crises.” According to The Marshall Project, in Kentucky, many of the police shootings “occurred in the state’s poorer counties.”
